Mcgregor gets cocky in Jack the Giant Slayer
LONDON — Ensconced in a Hampton Court Palace sitting room, the Scottish-born Ewan McGregor is surrounded by historic English trappings.
But he’s OK with hanging out at the massive estate where King Henry VIII once frolicked at his 16th century pleasure retreat south of London.
Indeed, the 41-year-old has no malice in the palace because he’s here to promote Jack the Giant Slayer, the converged film version of the Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant Killer fables.
Opening Friday, the 3D action film features McGregor as the brave knight Elmont who joins Jack (Nicholas Hoult) and the conniving Roderick (Stanley Tucci) on a mission to save Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson). She’s being held captive in the giant land of Gantua, newly connected to the Cloister kingdom by the growth of a magical beanstalk.
The subsequent brutal battles between the giants and the mortals might have some wondering about the source material, but director Bryan Singer says that the movie mostly references the darker yarn Jack the Giant Killer rather than the more familiar kids’ bedtime story Jack and the Beanstalk.
Whatever the case, the director requested McGregor adopt a proper English accent for his knight.
“I saw in the stage directions of the script that Elmont is introduced as a cocky Errol Flynn type,” says McGregor.
So the stage direction made sense. Flynn, although born in Australia, was considered the swashbuckling movie star who made the gallant English bandit Robin Hood famous.
“But I first read Cockney Errol Flynn type,” the actor says with smile. “For a week or so I was reading the lines in a Cockney accent, wondering why it didn’t work very well, and then I realized my mistake.”
Certainly, McGregor has had experience acting in special effects films with his role as the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels. But Jack the Giant Slayer was even more demanding.
“I had to imagine what that character may or may not do, as opposed to reacting to something that you’re seeing being done,” McGregor says. “That was different, but I suppose it’s a skill you sort of become attuned to.”
He has been attuned and flexible throughout his career, starring in independent features Shallow Grave and Trainspotting before making the transition to big studio films like the Star Wars series.
More than 60 films later, McGregor’s considered a rare actor who can do both comedy and drama, and can seem at home in big special-effects blockbusters as well as low budget art films.
He also manages to take things in stride whether it’s missing out on a role or being snubbed at the recent Oscar’s for his acclaimed portrayal of the frantic father in the tsunami drama The Impossible.
“Awards are really lovely when you get one or if you’re nominated for one,” McGregor says. “But it would be a shame to be upset. It’s not why I do what I do.”